USS Essex was designed by the North American shipbuilder Donald McKay. McKay is widely recognized as the premier shipwright and designer in 19th Century America. His fast clipper ships broke all speed records during the mid-19th Century and his ship Flying Cloud held the speed record from New York to San Francisco around Cape Horn from 1851-1989. USS Essex was the last ship McKay designed and constructed. Her keel was laid in 1874 and she was launched in 1876 as one of the last class of wooden-hulled American Naval vessels and one of the last out-fitted with auxiliary sails. USS Essex worked around the world as a US Navy Sloop of War and then as a training vessel in the Atlantic and the Great Lakes. She ended her long service in Duluth, Minnesota and is now a National Register of Historic Places-recognized shipwreck - and the only known example of Donald McKay's craftsmanship known to survive anywhere in the world.

This fifty-seventh log book of USS Essex contains much interesting information about the daily workings of the ship. During this time period, she was stationed with the Ohio Naval Militia in Toledo on Lake Erie. Other ships mentioned in this log include USS Dorothea, USS Don Juan de Austria, USS Tennessee, and USS Yantic. Essex was commanded by Anthony F. Nicklett.

Sixty-two of Essex's log books are known and Maritime Heritage Minnesota received Minnesota Historical and Cultural Heritage Grants – part of the Legacy Amendment - to digitize, edit, and transcribe these books. This is a transcription of log book #57, transcribed by Ann Merriman and Christopher Olson. It was proofread by Betty Lloyd, granddaughter of Ernest E. Dieball, USS Essex crewman and officer in Toledo. At the end of the transcription you will find an index created by Betty for log books 51-59. The name index compiled by Betty for log books #52-#60 is attached to the end of log book #57.

In Copyright. This work is copyrighted to Ann Merriman, Christopher Olson, and Maritime Heritage Minnesota. It cannot be duplicated, altered, or hosted online by an unauthorized third party. It cannot be sold for a profit or used to make a profit by any unauthorized third party and no commercial use is allowed. It can be used as a scholarly resource with proper citation to Ann Merriman, Christopher Olson, and Maritime Heritage Minnesota.

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